NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq scaled new peaks on Tuesday, helped by a rise in mega-cap stocks and a positive start to the earnings season, while a solid rise in consumer prices in June weighed on sentiment.

Only four of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were trading higher, with the technology sector rising 1.1% to also hit a new peak, supported by heavyweights including Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp.

Growth stocks also got a boost from a decline in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield after data showed US consumer prices rose by the most in 13 years last month, while the so-called core CPI surged 4.5% on a year-on-year basis, the largest rise since November 1991, after jumping 3.8% in May.

Economy-linked energy, financials and materials sectors were the biggest decliners, falling more than 1% each.

PepsiCo Inc gained 2.6% after raising its full-year earnings forecast, betting on accelerating demand as Covid-19 restrictions continue easing.

At 12:05 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 21.92 points, or 0.06%, at 34,974.26, the S&P 500 was up 5.66 points, or 0.13%, at 4,390.29, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 63.97 points, or 0.43%, at 14,797.21.